Mic Morrow stood by his wife’s side as she fought for seven years before losing her battle with cancer. Having spent 46 years together, adjusting to life without Shirley was more than challenging.

Blessed with a son and a daughter, their life together had been a happy one. But cancer took Shirley far too early.

Yet somehow, Morrow knew God had not forsaken him.

Kay Meadows married the love of her life after attending Gardner-Webb in the late 1950s. She and Ed Sharpe had known each other since elementary school.

They celebrated their Golden anniversary on Aug. 30, 2008, with their two sons. Kay lost Ed to a heart attack the following year. As she emerged from the grieving process, memories of someone special led her closer and closer to a new chapter.

In 1957, Mic Morrow and Kay Meadows met during freshmen orientation at Gardner-Webb College. Then just 18 years old, their chapel seats were assigned and Kay said they found themselves “conveniently close.” Initially interested in a possible romantic relationship, Morrow quickly noticed a ring on her finger.

“We both respected and understood the significance of the engagement commitment,” Morrow said. “Our relationship at Gardner-Webb became a close friendship.”

A common interest in acting drew Morrow and Meadows together quite frequently as they were cast opposite one another in the Tennessee Williams production “The Glass Menagerie.” Morrow played the part of Jim O’Conner, while Meadows played Laura Wingfield, a couple who discovers that timing is everything.

“Kay was an excellent actress,” Morrow said. “She was also an accomplished musician. I always felt closer to God after spending time with her.”

In addition to their time together at rehearsals, the two enjoyed working together in the college library. During quiet times, they engaged in philosophical discussions about God, life, purpose, and many other subjects.

“As the months passed, our friendship flourished,” said Morrow. “I referred to her as my little sister. In many ways, she was. I had a little sister named Kay who died very young.”

The two spent hours in conversation about spirituality. They often prayed together. Both shared a keen sense that the Lord was central to their friendship. Their bond seemed to strengthen as the year progressed.

‘I won’t say goodbye’

The end of the school year arrived quickly. The two friends had to say goodbye. Meadows would not be returning to school. She and Ed would soon be married.

“I was happy for her,” Morrow said. “But I was also sad that our beautiful friendship would be ending.”

In their final minutes together, Meadows grabbed a pen and composed a note in Morrow’s yearbook.

“I won’t say goodbye,” she said. “But having you know full well that out there in the future, our paths will cross again.”

After graduating from Gardner-Webb, Morrow attended Carson-Newman College, where he met and fell in love with Shirley Garrison. They were married a few months after graduation.

“God blessed our marriage with great happiness,” he said.

As he and Shirley raised their children, he worked as an editor and consultant for LifeWay Christian Resources. In 2000, Shirley was diagnosed with cancer. She died in 2007.

“For four years, I was content living life as a single,” Morrow said.

Then on May 15, 2011, as he was returning from church, he received a telephone call that would change his life.

“Mic,” the voice said. “This is Kay.”

‘Reconnecting’

Morrow had thought of Meadows often over the past 54 years, but he never thought he would speak to her again.

Meadows had been on the Internet when she saw his name and some articles he had written during his time at LifeWay. A brief biography on Morrow was listed along with the article. It stated that he was a widower, and it also contained a contact number. She had never forgotten him, and was inspired to call. She told him that Ed had died two years previously.

Thrilled to re-establish the bonds of friendship, the two shared several conversations and began to anticipate seeing one another. As providence would ordain, Meadows' granddaughter was about to graduate from high school and she would be attending the ceremony, held in Nashville, Tenn. Morrow offered to pick her up at the airport.

“The days prior to seeing her were filled with anxiety, questions, and anticipation,” he said.

He wondered what it would be like after nearly 54 years. How much had she changed from the red-headed 18-year-old of 1958? Was the deep and loving friendship still there? All anxiety was gone the second he saw her.

“We embraced, kissed, and said the words that had been in our hearts for many years,” Morrow said. “’I love you.’”

For Meadows, the reunion represented myriad emotions. As she waited for the moment of their first meeting in more than 53 years, she experienced excitement mingled with a little fear.

“Reconnecting was a little scary at first because I knew that new avenues would open up,” she said. “But meeting Mic was an easy, casual, non-threatening event. It was like an old relationship revived. I felt that no matter what problem that might arise, he would be there for me.”

The months that followed gave them many opportunities to see one another.

But this time, he wasn’t going to let her go. Time and distance had not changed his feelings for her. He wanted her to be his wife.

‘Circumstances brought us together’

On Sept. 10, 2011, just four months after reconnecting, Kay Meadows Sharpe and Mic Morrow married.

“Circumstances brought us together the first time and God’s design for us was set in motion,” Morrow said.

The connection that was initially based on a beautiful friendship was finally allowed to blossom into a love of eternal commitment. As the Morrows look back upon their initial meeting at Gardner-Webb, they believe they are living proof that “God works in mysterious ways.”

Mic and Kay Morrow now commute between homes in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., and Whittier, N.C.

Mic serves as a contract writer for LifeWay Christian Resources and he leads conferences on discipleship and senior adult ministries. Kay owns a Native American crafts store in Cherokee, N.C., serves as the choir director in her church and participates in theater productions for the Smoky Mountain Playhouse.

Niki Bliss-Carroll is a public relations specialist and staff writer at Gardner-Webb University, and she has previously served as an adjunct professor of public relations for GWU.